Good For You

May 2015 Toledo Museum of Art Program Highlights

Exhibition Openings

Play Time

May 22-Sep. 6, 2015, Throughout Museum

In a world that prioritizes work, how do we encourage people of all ages to relish the benefits of play? Play Time celebrates the art of diversion and engages visitors in multi-sensory, interactive installations across the entire 36-acre Museum campus and in select locations across the city. Works include a giant red ball appearing in unexpected locations around the city; pop-up and temporary performances throughout the summer utilizing puppetry, pageantry and spectacle; and interactive installations both indoors and outdoors. Play Time opens Memorial Day weekend and closes Labor Day weekend. The exhibition is sponsored in part by ProMedica. Free admission.

Continuing Exhibitions

Drawn, Cut & Layered: The Art of Werner Pfeiffer

Feb. 6-May 3, 2015, Canaday Gallery and Gallery 1

See the possibilities of paper. Werner Pfeiffer’s work with this humble material has been shown and collected internationally, and is part of the permanent collections of New York’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the 9/11 Memorial Museum. The nearly 200 limited-edition and unique objects in this exhibition include drawings, dimensional prints, 3-D collage and sculptural and experimental books. Free admission.

Best in Show: Animal Illustrations from the Mazza Collection

Feb. 13-July 5, 2015, Gallery 18

The University of Findlay’s Mazza Museum is the largest museum of original artwork by children’s book illustrators in the world. About 50 works from that collection on loan to the Toledo Museum of Art explore the theme of pets – of all types – as illustrated in children’s picture books from the 1930s to the present, sure to delight visitors of all ages. The exhibition is presented by Marathon Petroleum Company. Free admission.

The American Civil War: Through Artists’ Eyes

April 3-July 5, 2015, Galleries 28 & 29

This exhibition depicts major events of the American Civil War as seen through the eyes of the artist. Approximately 50 objects drawn from the Toledo Museum of Art collection, local institutions and private collections are on display, including a monumental painting of the Battle of Cold Harbor by Gilbert Gaul that depicts Battery H, an artillery unit that included many soldiers from Northwest Ohio. Free admission.

Werner Pfeiffer Selects

Feb. 13-May 10, 2015, Works on Paper Gallery

Artist Werner Pfeiffer selected works on paper from the Toledo Museum of Art collection to reveal some of the inspiration behind his creativity in a companion show to the major exhibition Drawn, Cut & Layered: The Art of Werner Pfeiffer. Among the nearly 100 selections are books and prints by recognized Modern masters such as Henri Matisse, Jean (Hans) Arp and Max Ernst, as well as works by contemporary artists including Lucas Samaras, H.A.P. Grieshaber and Warja Honegger-Lavater. Free admission.

Gifts on Paper from The Apollo Society

April 10-May 31, 2015, Gallery 6

Since 1986, The Apollo Society, TMA’s art acquisition group, has purchased dozens of works for the Museum’s collection. This installation contains all 10 works on paper given during the group’s history. Objects – done in charcoal, ink, oil, photography, lithography, etching and wood engraving – include Paul Colin’s Art Deco portfolio Le tumulte noir (The Black Craze) featuring a young Josephine Baker; the 1570 seminal treatise Four Books of Architecture by Andrea Palladio; and the monumental, meticulously drawn Clear, Wondrous, Ancient, Strange showing the four ancient cypresses growing at the foot of Dengwei Mountain in China. Free admission.

Community Gallery

People on Paper

Feb. 6-May 7, 2015, Community Gallery

For People on Paper, area artists were challenged to create figurative art that portrays the everyday activities of people – resting, eating, dancing, listening, meeting, standing, waiting – inspired by works in the Museum’s collection. Free admission.

Toys! Toys! Toys!

May 22–Sept. 17, 2015

Toys are capable of provoking powerful memories – of our childhoods, of by-gone eras, of our collective cultural history. In this Community Gallery exhibition, local artists celebrate the fun and nostalgia of toys in a variety of mediums, from 3-D to installation work. Free admission.

Special Events and Presentations

FREE Gallery Talk: The American Civil War: Through Artists’ Eyes

May 1: 7 p.m., Meet in Libbey Court

Ed Hill, the Museum’s curatorial assistant and curator of The American Civil War: Through Artists’ Eyes, leads a tour of the exhibition.

May 5 and 6: 10 a.m. to noon or 1-3 p.m., free and open to the public, Glass Pavilion Hot Shop

Lino Tagliapietra, a native of Murano, Italy, began his glassblowing career at just 12 years old. Seven decades later, the 81-year-old artist has become one of the most celebrated figures in the world of glassblowing, traveling around the world to share ancient Venetian techniques. Tagliapietra will participate in a 10-day residency at the Toledo Museum of Art as part of its Guest Artist Pavilion Project (GAPP), creating art inspired by TMA’s glass collection. The Museum will offer the rare opportunity to view the “Maestro” at work on May 2, 3, 8, 9 and 10 in ticketed sessions, and May 5 and 6 in free sessions. Ticket purchases are limited to four per buyer, per session. Seating is limited. Tickets are $30 for adults and $25 for students, and can be purchased online at lino.eventbrite.com, by phone at 419-255-8000 ext. 7448 or in person at Museum information desks during regular hours.

Kentucky Derby Party Presented by Circle 2445

May 2: 4:30–7:30 p.m., Peristyle Terrace

Circle 2445’s annual bash, now in its fourth year, has become one of the area’s go-to celebrations of the Kentucky Derby. Enjoy a cash bar featuring mint juleps or a game of bocce in the Sculpture Garden, then watch the horse race screened in the Peristyle. Southern fare will be served, and bourbon tastings at 4:30 and 5 p.m. will be offered at $15 a ticket. Circle 2445 seeks to engage the next generation of art enthusiasts with the Museum. General party admission is $25 in advance for Circle 2445 members and $35 for non-members; after May 1 at 7 p.m., general admission is available for $35 for Circle 2445 members and $45 for non-members. Visit toledomuseum.org/circle2445 to purchase tickets.

FREE Pet-Friendly Celebration: K-9 May 9: A Day for the Dogs

May 9: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Museum grounds

TMA’s campus will become dog-friendly territory during its K-9 May 9 event, giving visitors the opportunity to meet adoptable pets from area animal rescues or bring along their own furry family members for a special high-frequency dog concert and other pet-friendly activities. The free festivities celebrate the Museum’s exhibition Best in Show: Animal Illustrations from the Mazza Collection, on view through July 5 in Gallery 18.

FREE Lecture: Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones: Music and Reform in Early 20th Century Toledo

May 9: 2 p.m., Little Theater

Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones oversaw his company, Acme Sucker Rod, with the virtue “Do unto others as you would do unto yourself.” He referred often to the Golden Rule, which led to his nickname and his popularity during his tenure as mayor of Toledo at the turn of the 20th century. Mary Natvig, professor of musicology at Bowling Green State University, will present a history of the former mayor that includes the performance of songs composed and written by Jones and his wife, Helen.

FREE Color Wheels Community Bike Ride: Tree Bird!

May 9: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., Meet at TMA Community Garden

To celebrate the Biggest Week in Birding – the annual migration that draws birdwatchers from around the world to Northwest Ohio – this Color Wheels Community Bike Ride explores the ecosystem of Toledo and its bird habitats. Learn about native trees and local and migrating bird species in Manhattan Marsh and the Old West End.

FREE GAPP Artist Talk: Kim Harty

May 22: 7 p.m., GlasSalon

In her sculpture, installation and performance art, Kim Harty examines the alchemy between artist and raw material. “My work cultivates meaning by forging relationships between the artist’s body, materials and technologies,” Harty said in her artist statement. “[They] leave the viewer with a palpable sensation, one which is both visual and phenomenological.” As part of the Toledo Museum of Art’s exhibition Play Time, Harty will make a mountain out of glass in front of a live audience on May 22, 23 and 24, throughout all three days. She will discuss this project, as well as her greater body of work and inspiration, during this Guest Artist Pavilion Project public talk.

FREE AIA-Toledo Society 3rd Annual Dorothy M. Price Lecture:

The Expressive Culture of Early Humans: Music, Ornaments and Images

May 22: 7:30 p.m., Little Theater

Around 40,000 years ago, an extraordinary record for symbolic expression emerged in Western Eurasia associated with the Aurignacian culture. Aurignacian arts included instrumental music, graphic imagery in the form of paintings and engravings, sculptural representations in the round and in bas-relief, and a rich assemblage of personal ornaments made of exotic and lustrous materials like ivory, amber and soapstone. What links these different modes of expression and why did they flourish at that particular place and time in human evolution? This record and these questions are the subject of The Expressive Culture of Early Humans: Music, Ornaments and Images, a presentation by Randall White, professor of anthropology at the Center for Human Origins at New York University. The lecture is co-sponsored by the Archaeological Institute of America-Toledo Society.

FREE Gallery Talk: Play Time

May 23: 2 p.m., Meet in Libbey Court

Halona Norton-Westbrook, Mellon fellow and curator of the contemporary exhibition Play Time, leads a tour of the exhibition.

FREE Lecture: Mark Clague: More Ballads Than Bullets: The Power of Song in the American Civil War

May 29: 7 p.m., Little Theater

Music was everywhere in the U.S. Civil War – on the field of battle, on the march, in camp, at political rallies, along the streets and atop the parlor piano with loved ones back at home. After the very fabric of the nation had torn, lyrics and melody offered a day-to-day meditation about what it meant to be American. Out of this cacophony of voices arose the possibilities, choices, and – eventually – the patriotic path that would reunite the country. Mark Clague, associate professor of musicology and director of research in the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, will discuss his research on music of the Civil War era, particularly “The Star-Spangled Banner,” which later became the national anthem. Clague’s interests center on questions of how music forges and shapes social relationships – the art of sound as simultaneously a transcendent emotional expression and an everyday tool for living. The guest speaker is currently completing a book for the University of Illinois Press titled “Music for the People” along with a manuscript titled “O Say Can You Hear: A Cultural Biography of ‘The Star Spangled Banner.'”

FREE Films

Film: Glory

May 7: 7 p.m., Little Theater

Matthew Broderick portrays Colonel Robert Gould Shaw, who leads the U.S. Civil War’s first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of his own Union Army and the Confederates in this acclaimed 1989 movie. Denzel Washington and Morgan Freeman also star in the film, which won 17 awards, including Oscars for best actor in a supporting role (Denzel Washington), best cinematography and best sound. (122 minutes)

Sunday Family Film Club: Mysterious Island

May 10: 2 p.m., Little Theater

The Sunday Family Film Club features free screenings of kid-friendly movies, with film choices inspired by current exhibitions in the Museum. In this 1951 family-friendly action adventure, a group of Civil War soldiers escape the stockade using a hot air balloon and end up on a strange Pacific island inhabited by a giant crab, giant bees and other unusual creatures. (101 minutes)

Film: Best in Show

May 15: 7 p.m., Little Theater

“Best in Show” offers a comedic, behind-the-scenes look at the highly competitive world of dog shows. Much of the mock documentary, which follows five dog owners as they enter the prestigious Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show, was improvised. “Best in Show” was number 38 on Bravo’s “100 Funniest Movies” list. The film is being screened in conjunction with the Museum exhibition Best in Show: Animal Illustrations from the Mazza Collection, on view in Gallery 18 through July 5.

Double Feature Film Screening: The Red Badge of Courage and An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

May 21: 7 p.m., Little Theater

“The Red Badge of Courage”(69 minutes) is the 1951 classic John Houston adaptation of the Stephen Crane novel about a Civil War Union soldier struggling to find the courage to fight in the heat of battle. “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” (28 minutes) is a 1962 Academy Award-winning short film based on a story written by Ambrose Bierce about a Southern man about to be hanged for attempting to sabotage a railway bridge during the Civil War. The execution on the bridge fails when the hangman’s rope breaks and the civilian begins his escape for home.

The Sound of Silents Film and Live Music: The General

May 28: 7 p.m., The Peristyle

Buster Keaton, a major star of the silent film era, directed, produced, co-wrote and starred in “The General,” which tells the story of a Southern train engineer trying to rescue his fiancée after she is kidnapped by Union soldiers during the U.S. Civil War. Though considered a flop at the time of its release in 1926, it was rediscovered by critics decades later, and in 2007 was ranked number 18 by the American Film Institute on its list of the 100 best American movies of all time. A live musical score will be performed by Stephen Warner during “The General” on the Museum’s historic Skinner organ. Thursday evening programming at the Museum is sponsored in part by Huntington Private Client Group.

Marathon Film Screening: The Civil War, a Film by Ken Burns

May 30: 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The highly acclaimed, 10½-hour 1990 documentary by filmmaker Ken Burns will be shown in its entirety (638 minutes, plus breaks). Burns uses interviews, photographs, narration and commentary by historian Shelby Foote to provide insights to the people and events of the American Civil War. Originally broadcast by PBS, the television series received two 1991 Daytime Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, a People’s Choice for favorite mini-series and program of the year and outstanding achievement awards from the Television Critics Association.

Music Performances

FREE It’s Friday! Music

Enjoy music performed by local and regional musicians. Small plate dishes from the Museum Café are for sale and a cash bar is available. It’s Friday! is sponsored in part by Fifth Third Bank.

May 1: 6:30-8:30 p.m., Green Room

Tad Weed Freedom Ensemble featuring Estar Cohen

Jazz pianist Tad Weed has recorded, arranged, accompanied and performed with a wide range of artists, from Chaka Khan to Wynton Marsalis. After earning a master’s degree in jazz studies from The Grove School in Los Angeles and spending part of his career in California, Weed relocated to the Midwest to serve on the music faculty of various colleges in the region, including Bowling Green State University and the University of Toledo. The evening’s vocalist, local singer Estar Cohen, performs with jazz and rock bands throughout the region.

Helen Beach Jones and her husband, former Toledo mayor Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones, lived in a house that stood in what is now the Toledo Museum of Art’s Peristyle theater. The home’s former location is fitting because Jones, an accomplished organist and singer, subsequently started the Museum’s music program. This special organ concert pays tribute to Jones, her husband, and the many who sang with the Toledo Women’s Chorus she founded. Performers include Marilyn Keiser, a renowned concert organist and professor emeritus at Indiana University, as well as Jessica Park, a 2014 graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and an American Guild of Organists award winner. The event will conclude with the audience participating in singing “Hymn to Truth,” written by Samuel Jones and put to music by his wife, Helen. The next day, a lecture titled Samuel “Golden Rule” Jones: Music and Reform in Early 20th Century Toledo will be presented in the Little Theater at 2 p.m.

Jazz Under Glass with the Art Tatum Jazz Society

May 14: 6:30-8:30 p.m., GlasSalon

Jazz Under Glass is a new Thursday night music series in partnership with the Art Tatum Jazz Society. The program features performances by both local and international jazz musicians. Tickets are $20 for adults, $15 for Art Tatum Jazz Heritage Society members, and $5 for students, and are available at www.arttatumsociety.com.

FREE Great Performances in the Great Gallery

May 17: 3 p.m.

Joel Tse, Toledo Symphony Orchestra principal flutist and University of Toledo instructor, will play a flute sonata by composer Sergei Prokofiev.

Off Lines with the Art Tatum Jazz Society

May 21: 6:30-8:30 p.m., GlasSalon

Enjoy the music of Israeli-born, New York-based pianist Guy Mintus and Israeli-born, Turkish musician Yinon Muallem. Tickets are $35 for adults, $25 for Art Tatum Jazz Society members, and $10 for students, and are available at www.arttatumsociety.com.

FREE Great Performances in the Great Outdoors: Dodworth Saxhorn Band: Songs That Made A Nation: The Civil War, 1861-1865

May 31: 2 p.m., Monroe St. Terrace

America’s premier 19th century brass outfit, Ann Arbor’s Dodworth Saxhorn Band, will present a Civil War-era performance using actual instruments from the 1800s. The 17 musicians, dressed in period costumes, model themselves after the Dodworth Band of New York City, which was one of the leading brass bands in the United States from the 1840s to the 1880s. Presented in conjunction with The American Civil War: Through Artists’ Eye exhibition, this afternoon of free entertainment features music, poetry, dance and theatre.

Art Hours: Flameworking

Flameworking Art Hours are a hands-on glassmaking activity where participants create beads using a torch. This month, make hamburger shapes under the guidance of a Toledo Museum of Art instructor. Sessions are $25 per person. Tickets can be purchased during Museum hours by phone at 419-255-8000 ext. 7448 or in person. No experience necessary.

Hamburgers

May 29: 7 p.m.

May 29: 8 p.m.

Wine by the Glass Pavilion

Enjoy four wines and light snacks from 6:30-8:30 p.m. during It’s Friday! at the Toledo Museum of Art Glass Pavilion. Tickets are $20 for members, $30 for nonmembers, plus tax, and are available for purchase during Museum hours by phone at 419-255-8000 ext. 7448 or at the information desks. It’s Friday! is sponsored in part by Fifth Third Bank.

May 8: Muy Bueno! Argentina Wines

May 15: Lekker Jol: South African Wines

May 22: Cowabunga! U.S. West Coast Wines

May 29: O-H-I-O! Wines from the Buckeye State

FREE Public Tours

Tour participants meet in Herrick Lobby unless otherwise noted.

Collection Highlights

May 1: 8 p.m.

May 15: 8 p.m.

May 22: 8 p.m.

Meet Me at TMA: The American Civil War: Through Artists’ Eyes

May 2: 1 p.m.

Learn how artists portrayed the events of the Civil War through sculpture, painting and sketches in this hour-long tour designed for those with mild memory loss and their companions. Pre-registration is encouraged but not required. The program is co-sponsored by the Museum, HCR Manor Care, Susan L. Conda and the Alzheimer’s Association, Northwest Ohio Chapter. Call 1-800-272-3900 for more information or to register.

Family Time Tour

May 3: 3 p.m.

Ask Me

2-4 p.m.

Look for a docent wearing an “Ask Me” button as he or she travels the galleries answering questions and engaging visitors in discussion about the art on view.

May 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31: Glass Pavilion

May 2, 9, 16, 23 and 30: Main Museum

Localeyes

Meet in Libbey Court

Toledo community members, including artists, musicians, and educators, partner with a TMA docent to guide a tour of art that has personally inspired them.

May 7: 6 p.m.

May 14: 6 p.m.

May 21: 6 p.m.

May 28: 6 p.m.

Best in Show: Animal Illustrations from the Mazza Collection Exhibition

May 8: 7 p.m.

May 29: 7 p.m.

The Art of Seeing Art™

May 8: 8 p.m.

May 29: 8 p.m.

A Brush with Art: Best in Show: Animal Illustrations from the Mazza Collection

May 8: 1 p.m.

Discover children’s book illustrations of pets in Best in Show: Animal Illustrations from the Mazza Collection. Following the tour, visitors will venture to a classroom for a hands-on art experience inspired by the exhibition. A Brush with Art is a 90-minute program designed for those with mild memory loss and their companions. Pre-registration is required. Call the Alzheimer’s Association, Northwest Ohio Chapter at 1-800-272-3900 for more information or to register.

FREE Family Center Activities

Activities at the Family Center are designed for children 10 years of age and younger accompanied by an adult. The Family Center is sponsored in part by The Andersons.

The Art of Paper

May 3: Noon-5 p.m.
May 5 and 7: 10 a.m.to 3 p.m.
May 8: 3:30-8 p.m.

Catch the last days of the exhibition Drawn, Cut & Layered: The Art of Werner Pfeiffer for inspiration on creative uses of paper. Then, head downstairs to the Family Center to make a book using unique folding and texture techniques.

2 Responses to “May 2015 Toledo Museum of Art Program Highlights”

I am looking to come for an overnight from the Metro Detroit area with some girlfriends to celebrate a 60th birhtday. Do you have a summer list of events that are happening on your Fiday schedules? I am specifically looking for when the Toledo Synphony will be playing at the Peristyle Theatre? I have been on a tour previously,and would love to see a performance. I think my other friends would enjoy this as well.
Thank you,
Karen Kraft

Our event calendar is currently in the process of being updated with all our June, July and August events and programs. Unfortunately, the Toledo Symphony Orchestra just played its last concert of the 2014/2015 season last weekend. TSO will return to the Peristyle September 25 and 26, 2015.